Top 14 role for Worsley

Former Wasps and England flanker Joe Worsley has joined French club Bordeaux-Begles as defence coach.

Former England star to join Bordeaux as defence coach

Former Wasps and England flanker Joe Worsley has joined French club Bordeaux-Begles as defence coach. Worsley, 34, who won 78 England caps and was part of the 2003 World Cup-winning squad, was forced to retire in November after failing to recover from a neck injury. He was approached by Bordeaux-Begles president Laurent Marti for his first professional coaching role on the advice of new general manager Raphael Ibanez. Former France hooker and Les Bleus captain Ibanez, who played alongside Worsley at Wasps, told the Bordeaux club website: "He is someone who is hugely competent. "I played with him for five years at Wasps and could see his qualities as a defender and the ideas he had concerning that sector of the game." Bordeaux-Begles finished an impressive eighth in the Top 14 this term, having been tipped for relegation.